Past Perfect Simple and Continuous: Key Rules, Practice Exercises, and Useful Phrases

12/03/2025 Learning & Grammer created by Sprachcaffe Team

Practice the past perfect simple and continuous with easy and intuitive exercises | Get ready to practice the past perfect simple and continuous in this lesson, as we'll provide you with simple and intuitive exercises to consolidate th e knowledge you've just acquired!

Have you just studied the past perfect in English? Then you're in the right place!

At Sprachcaffe, we always say: there's nothing more effective than challenging yourself to truly learn something. Especially when it comes to languages: constant practice and exercise can make a huge difference in the speed—and effectiveness—of a learning process.

Past Perfect Simple and Continuous: What are they?

First of all, however, let's take a step back: what are the past perfect simple and the continuous?

These are two of the most commonly used English verb tenses, essential to know, identify in a text, and use.

In particular, they are two verb tenses used to talk about actions that occurred in the past, and more precisely to express the relationship between two moments in the past.

Example of past perfect simple:

I had finished my homework before dinner.

Example of past perfect continuous:

She had been working at the company for five years before she got promoted.

While they may seem similar and interchangeable, it is important to remember that there are distinct differences in their use and structure.

When to Use the Past Perfect Simple and the Past Continuous: Sentences and Examples

Let's see, therefore, when one is used and when, instead, it is more correct to use the second verb tense.

Using the past perfect simple

The past perfect simple is used for:

Expressing actions completed before a certain time in the past.

Example:
When I arrived, he had already eaten. → When I arrived, he had already eaten.

Here, "had eaten" indicates that the action of eating (completed) occurred before I arrived (another past tense: "I arrived").

Highlight the result or completion of the action. In this case, we want to focus more on the result we achieved, rather than the moment the action occurred.

Example:
She had already written the report before the meeting started.

In this case, "had written" indicates that the action of writing the report was completed before the main action in the past ("the meeting started"). The use of the past perfect simple here emphasizes that the action of writing the report was already finished before the meeting began, emphasizing the completion of the action before another event in the past.

Use of the past perfect continuous

On the other hand, the past perfect continuous is used for:

Emphasizing the duration or progress of an action up to a certain point in the past. In this case, it is often accompanied by text particles that suggest the duration of a period of time, namely "for" and "since." These are two similar prepositions of time , but they convey different information: for tells us how long an action lasted, while since tells us how long ago it began.

Example: The road was wet
because it had been raining for 7 hours.

"Had been raining" indicates that the rain (continuous action) had been continuing for several hours, until the road became wet. To use since, we could have said:

The road was wet because it had been raining since 8 AM. (And now it's 3:00 PM.)

Highlight the period of time during which the action was in progress.

Example:
He was tired because he had been working all day. → He was tired because he had been working all day.

"Had been working" emphasizes the process of working (duration) up to a certain point in the past (until the end of the day). In this sentence, the focus is precisely on the fact that he had to work all day.

Past Perfect Simple and Continuous: Exercises to Complete

Now that you've dusted off the theory, these two verb tenses should hold no more secrets for you. How about we test them out together?

Try these exercises to see if your knowledge of the topic is truly solidified or if you need further refresher training. You'll also find the solutions at the end of the three exercises, but be sure to check them afterwards!

Exercise 1
Complete the following sentences using the past perfect simple.

I _______ my homework. → I finished my homework.
She _______ to Italy many times: she loves this country! → She has traveled to Italy many times: she loves this country!
We _______ that movie before. → We've already seen that movie.
He _______in London for five years. → He lived in London for five years.
They _______Paris only once, but they want to come back to live there.
Lara ___ never ____ eaten sushi. → Lara has never eaten sushi.
I _______that book already: I didn't appreciate it. → I already read that book: I didn't like it.
Mark _______ at this company since 2010. → Mark has been working at this company since 2010.
She _______her keys again. → She lost her keys again.
They________ a new car. → They bought a new car.

Exercise 2
Complete the following sentences using the past perfect continuous.

I _____________ for three hours. → I've been studying for three hours.
She ___________or the bus since morning. → She's been waiting for the bus since this morning.
We _____________ tennis all afternoon. → We're playing tennis all afternoon.
He ___________on this project for weeks. → He worked on this project for weeks.
They ___________heir house recently. → They renovated their house recently.
She ___________ Spanish for a year. → She has been learning Spanish for a year.
I've been waiting for you since 2 o'clock.
He___________ English grammar all morning. → He studied English grammar all morning.
They ___________ in this neighborhood for ten years.
She ___________ hard on her presentation. → She worked hard on her presentation.

Exercise 3
Complete the following sentences using the past perfect simple or the past perfect continuous as appropriate.

I ___________ here since 2015. → I have lived here since 2015.
She ___________ three letters today. → She wrote three letters today.
We ___________ for this moment for so long.
He ___________ at this school since he graduated.
They ___________ football since they were kids.
She ___________ French for six months. → She has been studying French for six months.
I ___________that movie twice.
He ___________ abroad for five years, but he still misses home.
She ___________in the garden all morning, and now she's exhausted.
They ___________ each other since childhood. → They have known each other since they were children.

These sentences illustrate different uses of the present perfect simple and continuous in different contexts, emphasizing both the outcome and duration of actions up to the present.

How do you think it went? Now, all you have to do is consult the solutions to the exercises you solved:

Solutions
Exercise 1	Exercise 2	Exercise 3
have finished	have been studying	have been living
has traveled	has been waiting	has written
have seen	have been playing	have been waiting
has lived	has been working	has been teaching
have visited	have been renovating	have been playing
has eaten	has been learning	has been studying
have read	have been waiting	have seen
has worked	has been studying	has been living
has lost	have been living	has been working
have bought	has been working	have known

Don't forget that, in some cases, both the past perfect simple and the past perfect continuous may be considered correct. For example, when for and since appear in a sentence, we can generally choose to use both verb tenses, even though the -ING continuous form is more correct and common.

Also, remember that it's always necessary to practice to nail a topic down, especially when it comes to a foreign language: engaging in conversation, testing yourself, and doing exercise after exercise will help you consolidate each piece of knowledge before moving on to the next topic.

So, move on only when you feel truly ready! And when that time comes, you can join us in the next Sprachcaffe lesson, where we'll discuss English prepositions of time in more depth!

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